Petition to East Bay Regional Park District to accelerate fuel load reduction in East Bay Hills
Petition to the EBRPD to Address the Severe Wildfire Hazard in the East Bay Hills
Dear East Bay Regional Park District Board:
We reside in East Bay communities in close proximity to Wildcat Canyon and Tilden Parks. For many years we have been concerned about the outbreak of a fire that could quickly engulf our homes and imperil our lives. For example, if a fire started in Wildcat Canyon it could be at the El Cerrito/Kensington ridgeline in minutes thus allowing little time to evacuate. The situation is especially dangerous because of the narrow roads in our communities that inhibit rapid evacuation.
Our concerns about wildfire have been reinforced by the massive loss of life and property in the recent wildfires in the Wine Country and Redding. CAL FIRE has estimated hundreds of thousands of people in the East Bay Hills live in extreme fire prone areas.
Prior to modern times there were routine wildfires in Wildcat Canyon and Tilden that removed underbrush and maintained large buffer zones of grassland. However, since fire suppression began many decades ago, the Canyon has become overgrown. It is now a tinderbox and it is only a matter of time before the right conditions trigger a fast-moving fire that will destroy property and lives. In the absence of natural fire, good forestry management in the long run requires human intervention to remove fuel by manual clearing or other means.
The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) and neighborhood volunteers have taken some steps to reduce the fire load but progress has been slow. Meanwhile, the fire load grows each day and local fire department personnel have told us that many homes along the ridgeline are indefensible given the present fuel loads.
- In light of the severity of recent wildfires, we are asking for the EBRPD to update their 2010 fire load reduction plan to reflect the extreme fire risks posed by the continuing drought and climate change.
- Currently, only a few limited areas are targeted each year for fuel load reduction. We are asking the EBRPD to accelerate its efforts in this regard by increasing the number of areas treated annually.
- We are asking EBRPD and our elected officials to ensure that these efforts are given the highest priority, that impediments to faster progress are identified and promptly addressed, and that additional resources be made available to ensure fuel load reduction is given the highest priority attention.
- We support the EBRPD adhering to a sound, science-based approach that will return the parks to a more natural state that is less susceptible to wildfire.
Sincerely,
Updates
December 2, 2018
The Park District board has ignored our repeated inquiries about the fuel load in Wildcat Canyon. Copy the link to this petition and post it on your neighborhood Facebook group today to turn up the pressure. We need to force a formal response from them before the fire season peak arrives.
December 2, 2018
Reaching this level of support confirms that our neighborhood is united in demanding safer conditions in the East Bay Hills. This momentum puts us in a strong position to force the Board to finally address the fuel load in our parks. Post this link to your neighborhood Facebook group and text three friends who live near the ridgeline to get their names on the list today.
31 Comments
Reduce the fuel load, and get our power lines underground. Expensive, yes, but compared to the loss if we don't ? We're crazy not to.
As a former wildland firefighter, I strongly support this effort. First priority should be to remove the non-native eucalyptus groves.
I was living in El Cerrito when a fire destroyed 7 homes on Wildcat Canyon Rd; we don't need to lose any more homes in the East Bay to wildfires. Please consider our concerns.
I reside in the fire zone near Tilden Park. I remember clearly the 1991 fire that burned my aunt and uncle's house and caused friends (and many animals) to evacuate to north Berkeley. I highly encourage the EBRPD in reducing fuel loads in a sound and science-based way.
As an East Bay Parks retiree who dedicated myself to controlling blue gum eucalyptus and other non-native invasive species, I am especially qualified to ask the Regional Parks Board to aggressively expand the wildfire fuel load reduction program in the East Bay Hills. Doing so will save many lives and significantly reduce property damage and the personal trauma of having one's home consumed by fire.
TIlden Park is a powder keg waiting to go off. Fuel reduction in the East Bay Hills is critical.
Thank you, Kensington Neighbors for Wildfire Prevention.
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Petition to East Bay Regional Park District to accelerate fuel load reduction in East Bay Hills
Petition to the EBRPD to Address the Severe Wildfire Hazard in the East Bay Hills
Dear East Bay Regional Park District Board:
We reside in East Bay communities in close proximity to Wildcat Canyon and Tilden Parks. For many years we have been concerned about the outbreak of a fire that could quickly engulf our homes and imperil our lives. For example, if a fire started in Wildcat Canyon it could be at the El Cerrito/Kensington ridgeline in minutes thus allowing little time to evacuate. The situation is especially dangerous because of the narrow roads in our communities that inhibit rapid evacuation.
Our concerns about wildfire have been reinforced by the massive loss of life and property in the recent wildfires in the Wine Country and Redding. CAL FIRE has estimated hundreds of thousands of people in the East Bay Hills live in extreme fire prone areas.
Prior to modern times there were routine wildfires in Wildcat Canyon and Tilden that removed underbrush and maintained large buffer zones of grassland. However, since fire suppression began many decades ago, the Canyon has become overgrown. It is now a tinderbox and it is only a matter of time before the right conditions trigger a fast-moving fire that will destroy property and lives. In the absence of natural fire, good forestry management in the long run requires human intervention to remove fuel by manual clearing or other means.
The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) and neighborhood volunteers have taken some steps to reduce the fire load but progress has been slow. Meanwhile, the fire load grows each day and local fire department personnel have told us that many homes along the ridgeline are indefensible given the present fuel loads.
- In light of the severity of recent wildfires, we are asking for the EBRPD to update their 2010 fire load reduction plan to reflect the extreme fire risks posed by the continuing drought and climate change.
- Currently, only a few limited areas are targeted each year for fuel load reduction. We are asking the EBRPD to accelerate its efforts in this regard by increasing the number of areas treated annually.
- We are asking EBRPD and our elected officials to ensure that these efforts are given the highest priority, that impediments to faster progress are identified and promptly addressed, and that additional resources be made available to ensure fuel load reduction is given the highest priority attention.
- We support the EBRPD adhering to a sound, science-based approach that will return the parks to a more natural state that is less susceptible to wildfire.
Sincerely,
Updates
December 2, 2018
The Park District board has ignored our repeated inquiries about the fuel load in Wildcat Canyon. Copy the link to this petition and post it on your neighborhood Facebook group today to turn up the pressure. We need to force a formal response from them before the fire season peak arrives.
December 2, 2018
Reaching this level of support confirms that our neighborhood is united in demanding safer conditions in the East Bay Hills. This momentum puts us in a strong position to force the Board to finally address the fuel load in our parks. Post this link to your neighborhood Facebook group and text three friends who live near the ridgeline to get their names on the list today.
31 Comments
Please spread the word about this petition. We must aggressively reduce the fuel load in Wildcat Canyon beginning immediately. I agree that the non native stand of eucalyptus trees should be greatly reduced as it poses the single most significant threat to our community.
Reduce the fuel load, and get our power lines underground. Expensive, yes, but compared to the loss if we don't ? We're crazy not to.
As a former wildland firefighter, I strongly support this effort. First priority should be to remove the non-native eucalyptus groves.
I was living in El Cerrito when a fire destroyed 7 homes on Wildcat Canyon Rd; we don't need to lose any more homes in the East Bay to wildfires. Please consider our concerns.
I reside in the fire zone near Tilden Park. I remember clearly the 1991 fire that burned my aunt and uncle's house and caused friends (and many animals) to evacuate to north Berkeley. I highly encourage the EBRPD in reducing fuel loads in a sound and science-based way.
As an East Bay Parks retiree who dedicated myself to controlling blue gum eucalyptus and other non-native invasive species, I am especially qualified to ask the Regional Parks Board to aggressively expand the wildfire fuel load reduction program in the East Bay Hills. Doing so will save many lives and significantly reduce property damage and the personal trauma of having one's home consumed by fire.
TIlden Park is a powder keg waiting to go off. Fuel reduction in the East Bay Hills is critical.
Thank you, Kensington Neighbors for Wildfire Prevention.
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Please spread the word about this petition. We must aggressively reduce the fuel load in Wildcat Canyon beginning immediately. I agree that the non native stand of eucalyptus trees should be greatly reduced as it poses the single most significant threat to our community.